1. 
Principles of an Academic Summary
Thanks to Dr. Zerwin of Fairview High for these tips!

2. An academic summary should:
 Summarize key ideas, as opposed
to specific events

3. An academic summary should:
 State the name of the author and
the title of his/her work early in
the summary.

4. An academic summary should:
 Use author tags throughout to
clearly establish that you are
referring to the author’s ideas (as
opposed to your own.
 Example: “McCarthy suggests
that…” or “Botstein argues that…”
or “According to Nehrenberg…”

5. An academic summary should:
 Remain objective throughout.

6. An academic summary should:
 Be written in your own words
(except for example given on next
slide!)

7. An academic summary should:
 Use brief quotes, where
appropriate (a well-stated phrase
that refers to the text’s main
point, key words or phrases that
you might refer to frequently).
 Don’t just drop in a quote – be
sure to introduce and analyze!